Knowledge, Awareness and Practice of Periodontal Therapy during Pregnancy among Dental Professionals
P. Santhanam
Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
M. Jeevitha *
Department of Periodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
Selvaraj Jayaraman
Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
M. Naveen Kumar
Department of Orthodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aim: To assess the knowledge, awareness and practice of periodontal therapy during pregnancy among dental professionals
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 dental professionals in and around Chennai. A well-structured questionnaire consisted of 18 questions which were used to assess the awareness of periodontal therapy during pregnancy among dental professionals. Simple randomised sampling method was used to categories the sample population (online survey participants).The knowledge, awareness, scores were calculated for the correct answers to the questions. Based on their response data were statistically analysed.
Results: Based on statistical analysis results were tabulated. Around 74% of participants were undergraduates and 26% were postgraduates. Around 64% of the participants were aware of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with periodontal disease. 80% of the participants were aware that pregnant patients must be turned to the left side on a dental chair for any dental examination and treatment.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that knowledge and awareness of periodontal therapy during pregnancy among dental professionals are appreciable among postgraduates than undergraduates. The attitude of the dental professionals, particularly undergraduates toward bringing the facts into clinical practice needs to be improved through integrated programs which can provide better and safe treatment to pregnant patients.
Keywords: Awareness, dental professionals, knowledge, periodontal disease, pregnancy